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Budget

High Cost Of War Weighs On Obama's Troop Decision For Afghanistan

New York Times | CHRISTOPHER DREW | Posted 11.14.2009 | World

Read More: Pentagon, Deficit, Cost of War, Karzai, Afghanistan War, White House, Afghanistan, Budget, Kabul, Obama, Cost of Afghanistan War, Hamid Karzai, World News

While President Obama's decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan is primarily a military one, it also has substantial budget implications tha...

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Bill Ritter Announces Cuts To Education, Asks For New Revenue Streams

Posted 11.07.2009 | Denver

Read More: Colorado Fiscal Policy, Colorado Budget, Arra, Budget Cuts, Budget, Colorado Education Cuts, Stimulus, Bill Ritter, Denver News

Governor Ritter announced Friday his budget proposal for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, which includes $260 million in cuts to K-12 education funding, and...

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How To Live On $0 A Day: Rediscover the Childlike Joy of Halloween (Get Free Stuff)

Lesley Stern | Posted 10.26.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Candy, Food Pyramid, Depression, Middle Class, Economic Crisis, Halloween, Tricks, Recession, Advice, Financial Advice, Pharmaceutical Industry, Free Stuff, Treats, Satire, Trick-or-Treating, Nutrition, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Financial Crisis, Comedy, Economy, Milk Chocolate, Humor, Halloween Candy, Nuts, Raisins, Budget, Living, Thanksgiving, Comedy News
Lesley Stern

Halloween traditionally marks the end of the harvest season when people begin storing necessities for the long, lean months ahead. Which is exactly the way you should be looking at it now.

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Recessionista Style

Nicole Williams | Posted 10.22.2009 | Style

Read More: Clothing, Saving, Style, Saving Money, Shopping, Recession, Budget, Economic Recession, Fashion During Recession, Style News
Nicole Williams

A year or two ago, fashionistas ruled the style scene. They proudly sported designer labels, toted the latest "it" bags, and rarely felt the need to shop the sale rack. But with the economic downturn, even the usual big spenders have had to master the art of shopping on a budget.

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Data: Afghan War Costs US $3.6 Billion Per Month

The Hill | Roxana Tiron | Posted 10.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Afghanistan War, Price of Afghanistan, Pentagon, Troops, Afghanistan, Budget, Troop Levels, Cost Per Soldier, Congressional Research Service, Kabul, Obama, Solder, Cost of Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Afghan War, Monthly Cost, Military, Army, How Much Money, Mcchrystal, Total, Cost Per Month, Afghanistan Election, Us, Afghanistan War Cost, Crs, Politics News

The United States spends about $3.6 billion a month in Afghanistan, according to data provided by the Congressional Research Service. ...

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New York Times: Lobbyists Fighting Last Big Plans to Cut Health Care Costs

New York Times | DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK | Posted 10.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: Gop, Cadillac Tax, Public Option, Lobbying, Cbo, Lobbyists, Budget, Senate House, Democrats, Health Care Bill, Costs, Health Care Reform, Max Baucus, Health Care Insurers, Medicare, Republicans, Jim Cooper, Health Care, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- As the health care debate moves to the floor of Congress, most of the serious proposals to fulfill President Obama's original vow to cur...

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Bidding the Dollar Adieu

Eric C. Anderson | Posted 10.07.2009 | Business

Read More: U.S. Policies, Gulf States, China, Budget, Economic Crisis, U.S. Dollar, u.s. Dollar Collapse, Business News
Eric C. Anderson

Uur former benefactors would now like to diversify their foreign exchange reserves in a manner that reduces losses before the dollar is only useful when hauled to the grocery store in wheelbarrows.

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Will California Become America's First Failed State?

The Observer | Paul Harris | Posted 10.03.2009 | Business

Read More: Outlook, California Bailout, Finances, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, State of California, Bailout, Budget, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, Meg Whitman, Unemployment, Foreclosure Rate, Foreclosure, Jerry Brown, State Workers, Budget Deficit, Poverty, Economy, Business News

California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state staff are being paid in IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and...

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Budget Woes Meet the Blake Street Boys -- Rocktober Here We Come!

Judy Montero | Posted 10.02.2009 | Denver

Read More: City Council, Stadium District, Judy Montero, Denver, Budget, Colorado Rockies, Lower Downtown Denver, Denver Lodo, Economic Development, Rocktober, Denver News
Judy Montero

The Rockies success couldn't come at a better time because our restaurants and night clubs have been feeling the sting of this economy as much as anyone.

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Congress Gets Paid, Veterans Get Shafted

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 10.01.2009 | Politics

Read More: Veteran, Iava, War, Health Care, Iraq, Afghanistan, Congress, Budget, Shinseki, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News
Paul Rieckhoff

This year, like 20 out of the last 23 years, the veterans' health care budget is late. In fact, the only budget that did pass on time this year was the one that funds salary checks for members of Congress.

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Progressives and the Budget Deficit

Dean Baker | Posted 09.28.2009 | Business

Read More: Health Care Reform, Deficit, Budget, Federal Budget Deficit, Economic Crisis, Housing Bubble, Business News
Dean Baker

There seems to be a bipartisan consensus that completely missing the biggest economic calamity in almost 80 years doesn't call into question your competence as an economic analyst. This should scare people.

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Avoid the Temptation to Cut Marketing Budgets to Balance the Books

Jenny Darroch | Posted 09.26.2009 | Business

Read More: Marketing, Advertising, Nielsen, Marketing Trends, Budget, Advertising Age, Economy, Economic Crisis, Recession, Business News
Jenny Darroch

Firms that spent more on marketing than their peers during the recession enjoyed a higher market value five years after the recession ended.

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Time for Congress to Face Facts: They Are the Death Panel

David Paul | Posted 11.12.2009 | Politics

Read More: Outsourcing, Debt, Congress, Federal Budget Deficit, Death Panels, Budget, Economic Development, Exports, Sarah Palin, Health Care Reform, Jobs, Health Care, Federal Budget, Politics News
David Paul

For two decades now, we have become accustomed to justifying any manner of spending, from education to tax cuts, as an investment in our future.

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Two Deficit Questions for Budgeting Expert Linda Bilmes

Pablo Manriquez | Posted 10.22.2009 | Business

Read More: Kennedy School of Government, Deficit, U.S. Economy, Harvard, Linda Bilmes, Budget, Business News
Pablo Manriquez

Any reduction in consumer spending, whether spurned by a tax increase or not, that causes a drop in our demand for Chinese products decreases China's incentive to lend to us except at higher interest rates.

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Bailed-Out Banks Making Profits -- For Taxpayers

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.16.2009 | Politics

Read More: President Obama, Bail Out, Troubled Asset Relief Program, Obama, Fannie, Taxpayer, Bush, Government, Deficit, Aig, Bailout, General Motors, Insurance, Interest, Toxic Mortgage, Bank, President Bush, Tarp, Wall St, Gm, Budget, Barack Obama, Invest, Executive Compensation, Chrysler, Profits, Profit, Wall Street, Investment, Chris Weigant, Companies, Return, Investment Firms, Freddie, Banks, George W Bush, Auto, Politics News
Chris Weigant

Money wasn't just "given" to Wall Street firms. It bought something of value. And now that the firms (and the market in general) are recovering, they're starting to pay it back. With interest.

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Irresponsibly Following the Congressional Budget Office

Dean Baker | Posted 10.16.2009 | Business

Read More: Economic Stimulus, Health Care, Budget, Cbo, Congressional Budget Office, Business News
Dean Baker

Members of Congress would be foolish to ignore the projections provided by the CBO, however they would be irresponsible if they treated this analysis as the final word.

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The Nexus and the Fiscal Crisis

Harry Moroz | Posted 09.26.2009 | Business

Read More: Health Care, State Budgets, Medicaid, Stimulus, Budget, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Local Budgets, Fiscal Responsibility, Business News
Harry Moroz

It is not the current recession that has put the fiscal condition of state governments at risk. The primary driver of these fiscal challenges is "the growth in health-related expenditures."

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UC System Funding: Less Can't Masquerade as More

Mark Levine | Posted 09.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: Taxes, Uc, Education, University of California, College, Budget, California, Politics News
Mark Levine

Students are being hurt already and will suffer even more, while the state will find itself short hundreds of thousands of college-educated workers necessary to move back toward prosperity.

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CBO Warns of Higher Unemployment: Washington Worries About the Deficit

Dean Baker | Posted 09.24.2009 | Business

Read More: Unemployment, Recession, Budget, Congressional Budget Office, Financial Crisis, Cbo, Business News
Dean Baker

The CBO will release a new set of economic projections for the next decade that are likely to show a cumulative deficit that is $2 trillion higher than the deficit projected in January.

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Why Republicans Should Back Health Care Cost Remedies

Stephen Herrington | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Government, Congress, Gdp, Social Security, Federal Budget Deficit, Conservatives, Budget, Gop, Marxism, Medicare, Health Care, Fiscal Responsibility, Veterans, Politics News
Stephen Herrington

Socialization of risk, a risk pool, is the very business model of private insurance for profit -- and government is simply the largest risk pool of all.

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Obama's Second Hundred Days

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Michael Jackson, Supreme Court, Latina, Sessions, Burris, Empathy, A Tale of Two Cities, Al Franken, Reform, Dickens, Sarah Palin, Second 100 Days, Muslim, Latino, Sotomayor, Health Care, Analog Television, Birthers, Age of Foolishness, Budget, Democrat, Congress, Sanford, Democrats, Barack Obama, Transparency, Rahm Emanuel, First Hundred Days, Health, Sonia Sotomayor, Credit Card, Souter, Healthcare, Senate, Polls, Mark Sanford, Cap and Trade, Gates, President Obama, Cia, Speech, Second Hundred Days, Jeff Sessions, David Souter, Flu, Obama, Democratic, Iraq, Media, Scotus, Republican, Bush, Pelosi, Television, Iran, Gay Rights, Nuclear Weapons, Baucus, Russia, Beer Summit, Arlen Specter, Credit Card Reform, House, Specter, Photo Op, Msm, Beer, Franken, Worst of Times, Charles Dickens, Roland Burris, Gay, Mainstream Media, Waterloo, Best of Times, First 100 Days, Torture Photos, Chris Weigant, Palin, Cairo, Max Baucus, Bipartisanship, Torture, Politics News
Chris Weigant

Our look back at Obama's second 100 days will begin with a short overview, and then move on to the categories: "the best of times," "the worst of times," and "the age of (media) foolishness."

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Orszag Vs. CBO: The Battle Over The Budget Gets Personal

MSNBC | Posted 08.27.2009 | Politics

Read More: White House, Cbo, Budget, Ezra Klein, Bill Clinton, Office of Management and Budget, Steve Elmendorf, Obama Administration, White House Budget Director, Peter Orszag, Congressional Budget Office, Boston Globe, Politics News

"Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag accused Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf of 'overstepping' in a Web post Sat...

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Voices of Reason in Sacramento

Antonio Villaraigosa | Posted 08.24.2009 | Politics

Read More: Taxes, Gas Prices, Financial Crisis, California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Los Angeles, Budget, Politics News
Antonio Villaraigosa

Today, our state assembly and restored gas tax funding to the cities and workers that need it most. The president's stimulus package will hit the streets on schedule.

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Seance on Wall Street

Dean Baker | Posted 08.20.2009 | Business

Read More: Budget Deficit, Stimulus, Medicare, Wall Street, Social Security, U.S. Budget, Budget, Business News
Dean Baker

Those who want fantastic stories about the unknowable would be much better off visiting people who promise to communicate with the dead than listening to the Wall Street spokespeople.

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Attention, Our Leaders: You're Not Listening!

Saul Segan | Posted 08.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Politics, Congress, Budget, Health Care Reform, Congressional Oversight, People, Health Care, Congressional Budget Office, Politics News
Saul Segan

Seven months hardly constitutes a reasonable interval by which decades of errors in oversight, carelessness, and greed, can be neutralized by the Obama administration.

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